I've had the Tokina for a few years using it on a Nikon D7200, I get superb results. I lent it to a friend with a Nikon D850 and he was stuck between the Nikon and Tokina, He tested the Nikon but ended up buying the Tokina!
When comparing shots of the figurine I wished you had moved the Nikon further so that magnification would be the same. The Nikon is no doubt sharper than the Tokina but when you have a bigger image to begin and the magnify it, it would definitely look sharper so it really not a fair comparison.
To me, it seems that you had a little missfocus on Tokina on second and third photo. At second shot it was at the dragon nose area and on the third one it seems it is sharper on lower part of "2" number. Anyways difference on those two are so small in IQ, the Tokina is better price wise. Of course VR might come in handy for others as well as bit sure close range AF on Nikon. In the review, I maybe miss the performance at F32 and diffraction kick. Great review overall. Thanks for video. :)
Thanks for the comparison. I think it’s really hard to draw any conclusion on one lens being sharper than the other. The chance of one lens being slightly misfocused compared to the other is almost 100%, especially at the macro level. Also, in the bokeh comparison, the DOF of the Tokina is much larger, which results in less smooth background blur. In an ideal situation you should correct for this by using a larger aperture. I don’t want to be critical, I know how hard it is to do such comparisons and draw definitive conclusions. What I usually do is make 5 shots per lens, and refocus in between. Than I only compare the best shots of each lens. What your review does show IMO, is that both lenses are very capable. The real life difference in image quality is insignificant. My preference goes to the Tokina by the way for its smaller size and lighter weight. It’s much cheaper as well.
Thank you for your point of view. "Image quality is insignificant" is finally true. For "real world" photos both lenses are absolutely capable. Side note: After all this time I used the Nikon also for filming many times where even this old VR was quite welcome, whereas the Tokina couldn't give me that option.
A great lens review, as you included some of the obvious difficulties in comparing the lenses fairly. You pointed out the difference in AF performance between the Tokina's screw drive AF and the Nikon Silent Wave AF and I absolutely agree with you the Nikon is quicker. BUT, I have the Tokina 100mm, and also numerous Nikon G series and D series lenses. Sometimes, particularily in live view, the D series (including the Tokina) search a lot when focusing, but it depends on the subject, and it is is worse in live view. The caviet to that is that sometimes the screw drive D series lens are quicker to focus than the G lenses, particularily when using the view finder. Again it can depend on the subject due to the difference between phase and contrast detect AF. I've found both G and D lenses to be much less distinct on more modern cameras, such as the D780. On older Nikons (like the D80o, D90, D810) the D's are mostly quicker in viewfinder AF, but definitely slower in liveview. I thought the lens review was one of the best I've seen, hence the desire to comment 4 years on, and I agree that the difference between the two lenses is so small. I bought the Nikon 105 about 10 years ago second hand, but it stopped working in warranty, and the shop didn't have another right away, so they offered the Tokina new, as a replacement......I don't regret agreeing to the deal.
Nice overview. The differences in DoF are not explained by the 5mm difference in focal length. I would guess it is however explained by significant focus breathing. As an old Nikon user, CA has been my recurring nag and having moved to Z, that is about completely gone. What most camera users (to avoid the word photographer ;) ) do not know, is that lenses generally are optimized for sharpness at infinity. Floating elements and internal focusing have changed this general ptinciple, though. Macro/makro/micro lenses are optimized for close distance. So you might find that the 105/2.8 micro Nikkor gives a nicer looking portrait than, say, a 105/1.4 (albeit the person in the portrait might wish for less detail ...).
Thank you for this very good video. I am always interested in a sample human face being shot for lenses around focal length 85 to 135mm. From my experience, the Nikon 105 2.8 seems to do a good job with human faces- I am not talking only about sharpness, but the overall three-dimensional depiction of the face.
Your sharpness comparisons were faulty. You shot with AF, but you didn't state whether both lenses had been AF fine tuned for the distances you shot at. My own experience using magnified manual focus with the same lenses you are comparing in this video was that the Tokina was distinctly sharper and more crispy for the very small, fine details such as hairs on ant legs, spider legs, and bee eyes. The micro Nikkor was always softer at all edges and points. That annoyed me a lot, so I got rid that overpriced junk.
Both are great lenses. I would say there is no winner. If the price is crucial for you then the Tokina and for the just better quality I would choose the Nikon because the Tokina is not so well sealed, so mine had dirt on the inside.
I've had the Tokina for a few years using it on a Nikon D7200, I get superb results. I lent it to a friend with a Nikon D850 and he was stuck between the Nikon and Tokina, He tested the Nikon but ended up buying the Tokina!
When comparing shots of the figurine I wished you had moved the Nikon further so that magnification would be the same. The Nikon is no doubt sharper than the Tokina but when you have a bigger image to begin and the magnify it, it would definitely look sharper so it really not a fair comparison.
To me, it seems that you had a little missfocus on Tokina on second and third photo. At second shot it was at the dragon nose area and on the third one it seems it is sharper on lower part of "2" number. Anyways difference on those two are so small in IQ, the Tokina is better price wise. Of course VR might come in handy for others as well as bit sure close range AF on Nikon. In the review, I maybe miss the performance at F32 and diffraction kick. Great review overall. Thanks for video. :)
You are right, the differences are tiny and glad you liked it. Thank you.
Thanks for the comparison. I think it’s really hard to draw any conclusion on one lens being sharper than the other. The chance of one lens being slightly misfocused compared to the other is almost 100%, especially at the macro level. Also, in the bokeh comparison, the DOF of the Tokina is much larger, which results in less smooth background blur. In an ideal situation you should correct for this by using a larger aperture. I don’t want to be critical, I know how hard it is to do such comparisons and draw definitive conclusions. What I usually do is make 5 shots per lens, and refocus in between. Than I only compare the best shots of each lens.
What your review does show IMO, is that both lenses are very capable. The real life difference in image quality is insignificant. My preference goes to the Tokina by the way for its smaller size and lighter weight. It’s much cheaper as well.
Thank you for your point of view. "Image quality is insignificant" is finally true. For "real world" photos both lenses are absolutely capable. Side note: After all this time I used the Nikon also for filming many times where even this old VR was quite welcome, whereas the Tokina couldn't give me that option.
I've the newer version of the Tokina, for my Canon APS-C cameras, the Tokina ATX-i 100mm 1:1 Macro, and I find it to be outstanding.
A great lens review, as you included some of the obvious difficulties in comparing the lenses fairly. You pointed out the difference in AF performance between the Tokina's screw drive AF and the Nikon Silent Wave AF and I absolutely agree with you the Nikon is quicker. BUT, I have the Tokina 100mm, and also numerous Nikon G series and D series lenses. Sometimes, particularily in live view, the D series (including the Tokina) search a lot when focusing, but it depends on the subject, and it is is worse in live view. The caviet to that is that sometimes the screw drive D series lens are quicker to focus than the G lenses, particularily when using the view finder. Again it can depend on the subject due to the difference between phase and contrast detect AF. I've found both G and D lenses to be much less distinct on more modern cameras, such as the D780. On older Nikons (like the D80o, D90, D810) the D's are mostly quicker in viewfinder AF, but definitely slower in liveview. I thought the lens review was one of the best I've seen, hence the desire to comment 4 years on, and I agree that the difference between the two lenses is so small. I bought the Nikon 105 about 10 years ago second hand, but it stopped working in warranty, and the shop didn't have another right away, so they offered the Tokina new, as a replacement......I don't regret agreeing to the deal.
Thank you very much for your kind words. I'm glad that this aged review is still helpful. 😊
I love my Tokina
For sure. It's a great lens.
Nice overview. The differences in DoF are not explained by the 5mm difference in focal length. I would guess it is however explained by significant focus breathing. As an old Nikon user, CA has been my recurring nag and having moved to Z, that is about completely gone.
What most camera users (to avoid the word photographer ;) ) do not know, is that lenses generally are optimized for sharpness at infinity. Floating elements and internal focusing have changed this general ptinciple, though. Macro/makro/micro lenses are optimized for close distance. So you might find that the 105/2.8 micro Nikkor gives a nicer looking portrait than, say, a 105/1.4 (albeit the person in the portrait might wish for less detail ...).
Thank you for sharing your experiences and watching the video.
Does Tokina lens provide any weather sealing?
Unfortunately not.
Tokina is just as good if not better.This dude is such a Nikon Fanboy Haha !
Sure he is.
Thank you for this very good video. I am always interested in a sample human face being shot for lenses around focal length 85 to 135mm. From my experience, the Nikon 105 2.8 seems to do a good job with human faces- I am not talking only about sharpness, but the overall three-dimensional depiction of the face.
I got the chance last times to make some portraits with it and it did a quite good job.
Thank you for watching.
Dear lightcolorshadow
Thank you a terrific and very informative video
It explained a lot - much appreciation
Thank you for watching.
❤ is in the air ???
Your sharpness comparisons were faulty. You shot with AF, but you didn't state whether both lenses had been AF fine tuned for the distances you shot at. My own experience using magnified manual focus with the same lenses you are comparing in this video was that the Tokina was distinctly sharper and more crispy for the very small, fine details such as hairs on ant legs, spider legs, and bee eyes. The micro Nikkor was always softer at all edges and points. That annoyed me a lot, so I got rid that overpriced junk.
Bokina is better)
Well ... 😉
No portrait comparison !!
Sorry for that, I'm not that socialzied. But thank you for watching.
Super
The winner is tokina?
Both are great lenses. I would say there is no winner. If the price is crucial for you then the Tokina and for the just better quality I would choose the Nikon because the Tokina is not so well sealed, so mine had dirt on the inside.